The present invention relates to devices for securing fabric articles such as beach towels.
Beach towels are often used by persons at beaches, near pools, on cruises, and in other situations. Often, people place beach towels on beach chairs, on sand beaches, and on other surfaces so that they may sit or lie on the beach towels. Frequently, beach towels placed on such surfaces will shift and move when the person sitting or lying on the towel shifts his or her weight or otherwise moves, which may place the towel in an uncomfortable position or push it out from under the person. If the towel is placed on a chair, it may fall partially or completely off the chair. Additionally, a breeze or wind can cause a towel to shift, or even blow away, especially if the towel is left unattended.
Various devices have been proposed for securing beach towels to beach chairs, however the existing devices have various disadvantages. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,285 issued Aug. 22, 1989, to M. L. Dala et al. discloses a towel clip for holding a towel in place on the back of a beach chair. However, the towel clip lacks versatility in that it is primarily intended for use with beach chairs with tubular frames. U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,540 issued Jul. 4, 1989, to R. C. Pegram discloses a beach towel having a number of elastic straps for attaching the towel to a beach chair. This device also lacks versatility as the elastic straps are permanently fixed in one position to one towel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,789 issued Aug. 15, 1995 to G. Walker discloses a beach towel which has a number of velcro straps attached to it. Again, this device lacks versatility as the straps are permanently fastened directly to the towel.
Fabric articles other than beach towels are also subject to unwanted movement resulting from shifting people or blowing wind. For example, sheets often shift on beds and unsecured table cloths are frequently blown off of outdoor tables. Various devices have been proposed for securing such articles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 806,521 issued Dec. 5, 1905, to J. Childs discloses a bed clothes fastener which is comprised of a fabric engaging clamp, a resilient band, and a cord. However, this fastener is inconvenient as the cord must be tied and untied to secure the fastener to the bed frame.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a fabric securing device that allows a wide variety of fabric articles to be easily and quickly secured to furniture or other structures in order to minimize unwanted movement and shifting of the fabric articles. It is also desirable to provide a fabric securing device that can be used in combination with portable anchoring devices for securing a fabric article on beaches and other surfaces.